The crime statistics for the third quarter of 2021/2022 showed some improvements in certain crime categories in areas such as Nyanga, Harare and Khayelitsha.
The latest figures were released by Minister of Police Bheki Cele in Parliament on Friday 18 February.
Nyanga, which has been for years touted as the murder capital for the country, dropped to position 15 on the list of top 30 stations, with 44 cases from 58 during the same period last year.
Harare is in position nine with 47 cases, a decrease of eight from 55 murders.
Khayelitsha is in position 12 and has 45 cases, a decrease from 57.
Gugulethu is in position 10 with 47 murder cases, the same number as last year.
Mfuleni is in position five, with an increase by eight cases from last year. The station registered 57 murder cases from 49.
The City of Cape Town has welcomed what it described as “significant decreases” in the murder rate, and increased drug and gun crime detections, in many precincts where additional resources have been deployed through the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP), in partnership with the Western Cape Government.
The City says LEAP has delivered 1 100 officers to date in communities impacted by high crime rates.
“Significant murder rate decreases were recorded in Kraaifontein at 40,5%, Nyanga 24,1%, Khayelitsha at 21,1%, and Harare at 14,5%, which are all in the Top 30 stations nationally for this category.
“We are greatly encouraged by these results and are determined to build on this progress towards making Cape Town safer by investing in more safety resources,” said Cape Town Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis.
He said this includes increasing boots on the ground; expanding their capacity to train more officers; smart safety technology investments; and resources to build on their safety partnerships in communities.
Hill-Lewis said it was important that as a City “we step in to protect residents from failing national services, such as the severe lack of policing resources”.
“We will also keep placing Saps under-resourcing on the national agenda, given the 511 net decline in Saps personnel regionally between 2018 – 2021. Crime remains too high, especially in communities with inadequate police to population ratios,” he said.
The City’s increased safety resourcing has already seen Law Enforcement more than triple its arrest rate in the past five years, going from just under 1 000 arrests in 2016, to almost 3 000 in 2020/21, with 50% of these being drug-related arrests, he claimed.